muses & monsters

I first heard Josh Ritter a couple of weeks ago when he played his tune The Curse on Studio 360 . It has been rattling around in my head since. (& yes, I do live under a rock and had never heard of Ritter before). Sorry if the video is cropped - here's the link - just remember to come back, okay?

So when I heard a snippet again on NPR this morning, I cashed in some Amazon credits & picked up his new album, So Runs The World Away. (By the way, the band's drummer is also a puppeteer. He writes about the making of the video here).

S.R.T.W.A. is great background music. I know that doesn't sound like much of a compliment. But in the studio it is. Studio music adds to the ambiance without interrupting the thought process. Wow - that's not coming out right. Hopefully you know what I mean....

Do you play music when you are creating?
If so, what keeps your Muse happy?

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I Love Monsters!

I spent my formative years watching as many cheesy horror movies as I could get away with. I remember sneaking downstairs at 3 a.m. to catch Boris Karloff in the 1932 version of The Mummy (catch the trailer here.). I got totally busted & had nightmares for weeks.... but it was worth it!

I'd watch anything even remotely creepy, but my favorites starred Vincent Price.

Vincent Price by Lucas Soriano

I loved his velvet voice & dramatic flair. His flicks introduced me to Edgar Allen Poe. Plus he always seemed like he was having fun.

You can find Mr. Price all over YouTube. One of my favorites is his appearance as the mystery guest on What's My Line. If he were still around Vincent Price would have turned 99 yesterday - Happy Birthday Mr. Price!

May 27th was also the 88th birthday of Sir Christopher Lee. In the 70s & early 8os no weekend was complete without one of his monster flicks.

Christopher Lee by Lucas Soriano

Of course where would Dracula have been without Dr. Van Helsing?

Peter Cushing by Lucas Soriano

Another of my childhood favorites, Peter Cushing, would have celebrated his 97th birthday on May 26. Years ago you could watch him battling beasts on Saturday TV & then solving crimes as Sherlock Holmes on Sunday.

Happy Birthday, Gentlemen!

If you have few minutes give these guys a google. You might be surprised by what you find. You can watch many of their movies & interviews.

Peter Cushing is the subject of a fun song by the JellyBottys:

And Christopher Lee is into metal - who knew?? Ok, lots of people....but I live under a rock, remember? Find more about his foray into "symphonic metal" on the recently released album Charlemagne By The Sword And The Cross


Another thing you'll find all over the web is lots & lots of fan art. My favorite by far is the fantastic work of Lucas Soriano.You can view more of his art over at cowboy-lucas.deviantart.com/ as well as on his blog lucaselvaquero.blogspot.com. Please, check it out if you get a chance & tell him just how cool he really is!

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Final Note: If you haven't yet entered the random drawing for Tortuga Tile Works Ma & Pa Deathhead Mosaic, click here for photo & details. 1 winner will be selected on 6/3.